In Charuvila Philipose Sundaran Pillai and Another v. P. N. Sivadasan and Others, the Kerala High Court has laid down important guidelines for the service of summons on defendants residing in foreign countries, clarifying the application of the Hague Service Convention in conjunction with the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC).
The Legal Framework: CPC and the Hague Convention
The CPC, under Order 5, Rules 25, 26, and 26A, provides various methods for serving summons on defendants abroad, including through post, political agents, or designated court officers.
Additionally, India is a signatory to the Hague Service Convention, which streamlines the service of judicial documents between contracting countries. While Article 2 of the Convention establishes a “Central Authority” in each country to handle service requests, Article 10 permits direct service through postal channels, provided the destination country has not objected to this method.
The High Court’s Analysis
The High Court found that the Hague Service Convention’s provisions are procedural in nature and do not affect the substantive rights of the parties. Because the Convention’s methods are in harmony with the procedures already outlined in the CPC, the Court held that the Convention is enforceable in India without requiring specific Indian legislation.
Guidelines Issued by the High Court
In the above case, the High Court laid down the following key conclusions:
- The modes of service contemplated in the Hague Service Convention are directly enforceable in India, without having an enabling legislation.
- If the destination country has not objected under Article 10, Indian courts can validly serve summons through postal channels as provided under Order 5, Rule 25 of the CPC.
- The previous judgment in Mollykutty v. Nicy Jacob [2019 (3) KHC 118] is overruled the decision that the Hague Service Convention was the only permissible method of service of summons/notice on persons residing abroad and summons/notice cannot be sent directly to defendants residing in a foreign country. Therefore, postal service still remains a valid option.
Recommendations for Modernization
The High Court recommended that the Central Government may take steps to establish an online portal or dashboard to enable the courts and litigants to submit the necessary documents, monitor each step of the process and issue appropriate acknowledgments, in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Hague Service Convention, so as to facilitate efficient case management
And the Court further added that this portal should be integrated with the Case Management Systems used by High Courts to create a seamless and efficient s service of summons for litigants and courts.
Further reading
